After 3 months we got our health insurance cards from the province, so we are now able to get on the waiting list for a family doctor. Our estimated wait time is 270 days...the nice thing is that it's all done online, you enter in your details, put in your health card number and presto! You are on the list. Easy.
4 months after we moved here, we got Quebec plates and insurance for our car.
We have been here 5 months now, and just got our driver's licenses this week.
Our son is doing great in daycare, he is attending 3 days a week, and enjoys most of it, except nap time (since he doesn't nap any more at home), and he still has a hard time separating from us int he morning, and if his educator is away.
I have still not been able to work in Quebec I had been told by a daycare operator where I applied for a job that my license to practice would be worth nothing here, and that I would need to get a "comparative evaluation" of my studies. In other words, I would need to obtain both my transcripts from college, and all of my course outlines, describing the courses that I took in post-secondary. I also went to Emploi Quebec, and they told me the same thing. They even gave me the correct forms to fill out...thank goodness! I thought I was finally on my way.
So...I went to work contacting my colleges and gathering all of this. Unfortunately my ECE education was done at 3 different colleges as my program was cancelled when I was 95% finished at Kwantlen, so I had to finish part of it at Vancouver Community College and part at Langara. Obtaining transcripts and course descriptions cost money...in case you didn't know, but I knew it was necessary in order to get certified here. I found out also that the cost of processing this comparative evaluation was $115 Once I had accumulated this massive stack of paper, I called the ministry responsible for the comparative evaluation and asked if I could drop it off to the instead of mailing it, so I could save on the postage. I was asked what this was for, and after explaining my situation, I was told that I did not in fact need to send the documents in, and if I did, they would be returned to me and I would lose the fee of $115. I was told to refer to website:
"The Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Diversité et de l'Inclusion has adopted specific rules regarding document requirements. Considering that the diplomas issued by Canadian provinces and territories are comparable to corresponding Québec diplomas, the Ministère stopped evaluating these documents as of July 1, 2015."
I thought to myself, "Have I just wasted weeks of time and effort, and hundreds of dollars collecting all this for nothing?!" So I decided to seek out the daycare operator that gave me this information in the first place and to ask for her help. When I showed up at her centre, I discovered she no longer worked there. Hmmmm.
Next I asked if the manager of my son's daycare would be so kind as to point me int he right direction. Maryse has been an angel, she has been in touch with the Ministry of Families for me and is going way over and above her job description to aid me.
It turns out I did need those course outlines, as I need to prove how many HOURS of schooling I did. I have to go through every course outline and total up the number of hours, and that will tell the Quebec Government what level of education I have. They also want me to prove how many HOURS of experience I have in the field, which means my resume is not detailed enough. There is a ladder or pay scale decided by the amount of experience you have. They want letters from my previous employers with start and end dates, showing many hours per week I worked. Now I have been in the field for 18 years and my first job was when I was 18 years old. I have managed to contact all of my former employers, but one has no record of me in their database as it was so long ago, and another one sold their business to another company, so that company doesn't have any records from the previous owner. My latest hurdle is to prove that I ran my own home-based daycare for 2 years. I worked for myself, so I'm counting on a child care licensing officer to write a letter confirming that I owned and operated a child care centre Monday to Friday from 7:30am to 6:00pm for 2 years.
I provided a copy of my ECE basic program certificate from Kwantlen, as I completed that portion and graduated, but the government wants to see my "diplomas" from VCC and Langara too. I did all my courses for my infant/toddler at Kwantlen, but my practicum was done at VCC, so I didn't get a diploma from VCC. I just transferred there to complete the program, and I did all my Special Needs Educator courses at Kwantlen except for Special Needs Program Planning and my practicum. I transferred to Langara from Kwantlen too, so I did not get a diploma or certificate from Langara either. I have learned that I can now, 15 years later, apply to graduate from Langara and receive a certificate...for $35. But VCC is not as easy. They cannot issue a certificate because I only did my practicums there, no other courses. The thing is, the other ECE and Infant toddler courses were prerequisites to the practicums, so I would never have been allowed to enroll in the practicum had I not previously taken the required courses!! I convinced a representative from VCC to look at my transcript from Kwantlen and give me a chance. I just want to be given credit for what I have done. I want to get paid what I deserve to get paid and I want to start working!
At least I have my criminal record check done...that took two months.
Wow-this blogging is great therapy. I should have done this a long time ago!
Why all the bureaucratic BS? I have jumped through so many hoops, it's ridiculous! I can't be the first person in the history of the planet to move from BC to Quebec as a qualified, very experienced Early Childhood Educator...can I? There's got to be a simpler way to transition from one province to another in the SAME COUNTRY! I know, quit your whining. At least we are not in a position where I needed to work the first week we got here, but COME ON!
Rant over. If anyone has any advice I would love to hear it!
